General practitioner referrals to one-stop clinics for symptoms that could be indicative of cancer

This systematic review assessed and summarized the evidence for one-stop clinics for symptoms where cancer is a possible diagnosis. Of the 29 included studies, most were observational studies carried out in the UK. One-stop clinics were associated with significant reductions in the interval from referral to testing (15 vs 75 days) and more patients were diagnosed on the same day (79% vs 25%), when compared to multi-stop pathways. A pooled comparison of the cancer conversion rate of one-stop and multi-stop clinics was only possible for breast symptoms, and no significance difference was found. Acceptability to patients was assessed in 9 studies, with over 87% satisfied with the service provided by one-stop clinics. The majority of studies concluded that one-stop clinics were a patient-centered, efficient route to diagnosis, but delivery and implementation of these clinics need further assessment to ensure an effective service. Read the full text